CyanogenMod publishes new Installer app on Google Play

Minimally work-intensive custom ROMs are ready for the masses.

Cyanogen Inc., the newly created company that produces the popular custom Android ROM CyanogenMod, published a new app called CyanogenMod Installer which will unlock the user’s boot loader, root their device, and flash CyanogenMod to their phone with minimal extra effort. The free app is available over Google Play, and when it's paired with equally free desktop software, this can replace a phone's operating system with Cyanogen Inc.'s highly customizable version of Android.

Flashing a custom operating system to a smartphone is generally a complicated process, but now a user needs only download the app and the desktop software, connect the phone with the desktop, and then hit "start." With this new system, Cyanogen Inc. hopes to “[make] replacing and upgrading your current Android installation as simple as a few clicks,” according to a press release. There's a list of supported devices on CyanogenMod's wiki, but be aware. Several reviews of the app remind potential installers that rooting your phone is an easy way to brick it or void Google's warranty.

The company formally incorporated back in September after $7 million of series A investment, leading some CyanogenMod devotees to ask whether the free custom ROM maker would change to please the new investors. The new Installer app seems to be a bid at getting the software on more devices, but it doesn't seem like there are any strings attached at the moment. And for people with old-ish Android devices that aren't being updated in an efficient manner, turning to Cyanogen for timely security updates and more customizable features just got easier.